Celebrity Classics

In Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson muses about his greatest influences and the things that are most important to him, and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blessed his remarkable journey. Willie riffs on everything, from music to poker, Texas to Nashville, and more. He shares the outlaw wisdom he has acquired over the course of eight decades, along with favorite jokes and insights from family, bandmates, and close friends.

It's one of the greatest movie romances of all time. Yet the friction and controversy surrounding The Way We Were was so enormous, the movie was nearly never made at all. Drawing on Laurents's and Pollack's unpublished writings, as well as interviews with Streisand, Redford, and other key players, this is the definitive account of a film that changed the rules of moviemaking and defined romance ever since.

From 1969 to 1971, as the United States convulsed with political upheaval and transformative social movements, no band was bigger than Creedence Clearwater Revival. They managed a two-year barrage of top-10 singles and LPs that doubled as an ubiquitous soundtrack to one of the most volatile periods in modern American history, and they remain a staple of classic rock radio and films about the era. Yet despite their enduring popularity, no book has ever sought to understand Creedence in conversation with their time. A Song for Everyone finally tells that story.

This collection of children’s stories offers a mix of some best-loved tales as well as newer favorites. Included are “Puss in Boots”, read by Robby Benson; “A Day at Santa’s Workshop”, read by Betty White; “Elfis, the Elf Who Saved Christmas”, read by Brian Austin Green; “Jack and the Beanstalk”, read by John Ritter; “Peter Pan”, read by Sandy Duncan; and “The Wild Swans” and “The Elves and the Shoemaker”, both read by Michael York.

In 1976, under the guidance of legendary label Stiff Records, he transformed himself into the snarling, spectacled artist who defied the musical status quo to blaze the trail for a new kind of rock star with his debut album, My Aim Is True. In Elvis Is King, Richard Crouse examines how the man, the myth, and the music of this arrestingly original album smashed the trends of the era to bridge the gap between punk and rock ’n’ roll.

Some Like It Hot occupies a unique place in American culture. This beloved classic showcases five comic geniuses: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, I. A. L. Diamond, Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe. It has been honored by the American Film Institute as the funniest film of all time. It has contributed quotes, styles, and stories to film lore. Yet the full story of its making has never been told - until now.

One of the most influential and respected entertainers of Hollywood's golden age, Gene Kelly revolutionized film musicals with his innovative and timeless choreography. A would-be baseball player and one-time law student, Kelly captured the nation's imagination in films such as Anchors Aweigh (1945), On the Town (1949), An American in Paris (1951), and Singin' in the Rain (1952). In the first comprehensive biography written since the legendary star's death, authors Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson disclose new details of Kelly's complex life.

The late film icon and screen legend Kirk Douglas was married to Anne Buydens for more than six decades. Here they both look back on a lifetime filled with drama both on and off the screen. Sharing priceless correspondence with each other as well as the celebrities and world leaders they called friends, Kirk and Anne is a candid portrayal of the pleasures and pitfalls of a Hollywood life lived in the public eye. Compiled from Anne's private archive of letters and photographs, this is an intimate glimpse into the Douglases' courtship and marriage.

Since exploding on the scene in the late 1970s, Journey has inspired generations of fans with hit after hit. But hidden under this rock 'n' roll glory is a complex story of ambition, larger-than-life personalities, and clashes. David Hamilton Golland unearths the band's true and complete biography, based on over a decade of interviews and thousands of sources.

Herman J. (1897-1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909-1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture's only Academy Award. Joe earned the second pair of his four Oscars for writing and directing All About Eve, which also won Best Picture.

Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (January 6, 1946 to July 7, 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of Pink Floyd. He was the band's frontman and primary songwriter for their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), and portions of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from Pink Floyd amid speculation of mental illness and his use of psychedelic drugs. In 1972, Barrett retired from public life and guarded his privacy until his death of pancreatic cancer in 2006. The following is from an August 1967 interview.

Christina Rice offers the first biography of the actress and activist perhaps most well-known for her role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Despite the fact that her movie career was stalled for nearly a decade, Jane Russell's filmography is respectable. She worked with some of Hollywood's most talented directors—including Howard Hawks, Raoul Walsh, Nicholas Ray, and Josef von Sternberg—and held her own alongside costars such as Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum, Clark Gable, Vincent Price, and Bob Hope.

The son of a celebrated Hollywood director emerges from his father's shadow to claim his own place as a visionary force in American culture. George Stevens, Jr. tells an intimate and moving tale of his relationship with his Oscar-winning father and his own distinguished career in Hollywood and Washington.

On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane, known to Hogan's Heroes fans as Colonel Hogan, was discovered brutally murdered in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment. His eldest son, Robert Crane, was called to the crime scene. In this poignant memoir, Robert Crane discusses that terrible day and how he has lived with the unsolved murder of his father.

Delight in a collection of famous children's stories performed by our favourite celebrities. From a fantastic edition of "Beauty and the Beast", read by the brilliant comedian, writer and actor Rik Mayall, to an awe inspiring and captivating retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" by the renowned Lenny Henry, and many, many more....

In 1969, a twenty-something screenwriter with one movie credit to his name is approached by Jimi Hendrix's management after the legendary guitarist saw the obscure indie film in London and wanted to collaborate on a project of his own. Jonathan Stathakis had no idea how thrilling the next eighteen months would be, as he and Hendrix formed not just a working partnership but a unique friendship.

The superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos. Nancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the '40s, '50s and '60s. Hilarious, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel...twice.

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" These famous lines from The Graduate (1967) would forever link Anne Bancroft (1931-2005) to the groundbreaking film and confirm her status as a movie icon. Along with her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in the stage and film drama The Miracle Worker, this role was a highlight of a career that spanned a half-century and brought Bancroft an Oscar, two Tonys, and two Emmy awards. In the first biography to cover the entire scope of Bancroft's life and career, Douglass K. Daniel reveals how, from a young age, Bancroft was committed to challenging herself and strengthening her craft.

Pat Sharp is a man out of time. For those of a certain generation, he is an iconic figure synonymous with good fun, great hair and excess gunge. For others, he's just that bloke with a mullet. Fame is a fickle beast and, since the cancellation of Fun House in 1999 ('Just ten years into its run, when it was finally finding its feet'), Pat has become a reclusive figure, only emerging from his splendid isolation to pop up on things like I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Come Dine with Me. Until now.

This volume of the ongoing collection of children's stories offers six well known and well loved classic fairy tales. Included are: "The Princess and the Pea" read by Jaclyn Smith, "The Emperor's New Clothes" read by Michael York, "Thumbelina" read by Jaclyn Smith, "The Ugly Duckling" read by Michael York, "Aladdin's Lamp" read by Lou Diamond Phillips, and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" read by Sharon Stone